BlazeLime
Strong and Moving!
Curapedi
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Murphy Howard
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
James
British films with a historical theme are typically well-made, gorgeous to look at and in general worth watching; and Christopher Menaul's "Summer in February" is no exception. This is certainly a powerful advertisement for wonders of Cornwall only too apparent to those like myself, who have been there and fallen in love with the county pretty much instantly. For artists, it was always a matter of landscape and "the light" there, and this is also no exaggeration.In this particular case, the artistic community featured is one that assembled in Cornwall from around 1907, and in particular in the 1910-1913 period. The film itself claims to be set in 1914, when the February was indeed mild, as winters in Cornwall typically are. However, this is a slight "telescoping" of the facts in what is otherwise a fairly faithful presentation of true history. The key protagonists are (Sir) Alfred James (AJ) Munnings (1878-1959) - here rendered by Dominic Cooper; Florence Carter-Wood (1888-1914) - played by Australian Emily Browning; non-artist Captain Gilbert Evans (1883-1966) - played by Downton's Dan Stevens; Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970) - played by Hattie Morahan; and Laura's husband Harold Knight (1874-1961) - played by Shaun Dingwall. All are well-acted, and portray what by the standards of the day was a bit of a "Bohemian" lifestyle.At this point, we come to the key question here - do you want to devote 100 minutes of your life to the relatively passionate and tragic, but ultimately sort-of trivial goings-on of artists few have ever heard of over 100 years ago? The question comes all the louder when one notes that the story told here (basically by writer Jonathan Smith) arises primarily because Munnings was not an especially nice or stable guy, Florence was not an especially rational woman, and Evans was the "Officer and Gentleman" you might expect.By this point, a normal person might be screaming out: "who cares?" In my view, this is the wrong attitude; but then I opted to watch the film anyway - because of Cornwall, because British-made, and because the acting was good in a story that does have a good dose of passion and sadness in it. As a bonus, I learned that, for all their faults, the above artists were very talented indeed, produced quite a few very impressive works (readily viewable online, as well as in galleries) and are (relatively) little-known solely because the tide of (trendy, though not necessarily ordinary person's) interest turned against their kind of painting. Munnings was notably opposed to Modern Art, and Menaul has Cooper make an angry (possibly drunken) reference to "Pi**-casso", which I found quite witty! In fact - among many other things - Munnings went on to paint pictures (sometimes even slightly impressionistic) for the Canadian Cavalry in WWI, and these are as significant and moving as you might expect.Perhaps you don't need to watch a film to learn about the above artists and come to appreciate their worth? Well, as it happens I did, and am more than happy to be enlightened in this way...And I shall certainly track down these artists further the next time I'm in Cornwall.
howardmorley
Yes Dan Stevens, Dominic Cooper and the actress who played Elinor from Sense & Sensibility (BBC 2008) were all cast in this movie about the artist A.J. Munnings who lived in a bohemian art colony in Cornwall in 1913.I was not aware that this artist later became president of the Royal Acadamy.My wife & some of her friends went to the R.A. recently and saw "Lady on a Horse" the celebrated painting of Munnings wife who later committed suicide.They returned from this trip to one of the friend's house and saw the DVD of "Summer in February".Knowing I am a keen amateur artist my wife generously bought me a copy of the DVD (together with a R.A. brochure of his work) so I could see for myself which I did today.Criticism? I would have liked to have seen more of Munning's paintings and less of his character spouting poetry and his negative personal character traits.We also did not learn enough about his art technique.I agree Cornwall provides an artistic backdrop having visited the county myself several times e.g. St Ives.I was never convinced I was seeing anything but a bunch of actors pretending to paint.I would like to have seen a professional artist painting e.g. convicted fraudster John Mynott who has the ability to paint in the style of the masters with suitable certified paintings after spending a year in prison - see his "Confessions of an Art Forger" videos on www.youtube.com. which are instructive.Film producers dub on professional musicians when doing biopics of famous historical figures and likewise get professional painters to ape famous artists' work.Mediocre I gave it 6/10.
comicman117
Summer in February feels like one of those movies that knows it's not going to get nominated for any Academy Awards, especially since the film is a United Kingdom (UK) productions and the producers probably weren't even sure if it was going to get released in the U.S., but somehow ends up feeling like an "accidental Oscar Baiter". The story is based on the true story of the Lamorna group in the U.K., and centers around three characters. It is a love triangle between AJ Munnings (Dominic Cooper), his new wife, Florence Carter Wood (Emily Browning), and his friend and Florence's eventual lover, Gilbert Evans (Dan Stevens).Summer in February is a beautifully shot movie and feels like a period piece with the correct costumes, and some of the acting is pretty good, but for my taste, it just lacked action. The three leads are good in their respective roles. Dominic Cooper, in the role of AJ, brings an easy level of energy, though he seems somewhat incapable of yelling. His character, true story or not, is just unlikeable. Are we supposed to sympathize with a man who abuses his wife that way? No wonder she had an affair with his friend. Sure, he changes his attitude near the end, but it's just too late for me. Dan Stevens is good as Gilbert, though he has moments where he overacts (hence the Oscar bait feel). His character is way more likable than AJ's, and that just seems somewhat unnecessary. Emily Browning is easily the weakest of the three. She is an Australian actress, and I thought she was sounded Australian, rather than British, but eventually, I got used to her, although, she does have a slow delivery, and no real chemistry between either of the leads (Dominic Cooper and Dan Stevens). There are other actors and characters in the film, but none of them were as well developed as the three leads.The direction by Christopher Menaul (unlike Dallas Buyers Club) seems to be playing it easy for the most part. The musical score by Benjamin Wallfisch is melodramatic and supposedly "uplifting" as to be expected in a period drama. I know this based off a true story, but that doesn't excuse the messy nature of the film. Summer In February just feels like one of those films that they made and forgot to give a flavor to.
Jenni Mason
Every movie must have a story that either invokes some sort of inspiration or realization for its viewers otherwise it is equal to reel of toilet paper. Well I wouldn't compare this to toilet paper, but it has everything except story. I don't know how related it is to the true story it is based on but I can say it feels as if something is happening in the background and the viewers are kept away. The characters are so indifferent to each other that at some point I felt like I will break the screen but then the beauty of the scenes stopped me. The actors/actresses are struggling to make sense of the dialogues and expression not knowing why they are doing so. If this movie is based on a book and as I read from other reviews that it is really beautiful then the director and the screenplay writer has to find another job. No wonder it is rated so low.
